Aramark Launches Feed Your Potential 365 Campaign to Improve Consumer Health

PHILADELPHIA, April 12, 2017 /3BL Media/ -- As part of its five-year commitment with the American Heart Association to improve the health of Americans 20 percent by 2020, Aramark (NYSE: ARMK), a global leader in food, facilities management and uniforms, is launching Feed Your Potential 365, a public health and well-being campaign, to promote healthy lifestyles among all consumers, as well as families in underserved communities and Aramark’s customers, clients and employees. As part of the campaign, the company is establishing Feed Your Potential 365 Clubs around the country and expects to reach an additional 500+ non-profit organizations through a proven online health and wellness curriculum created with the American Heart Association (AHA). 

“Feed Your Potential 365 is the next key step in our journey to change consumer behaviors around food and nutrition,” said Eric J. Foss, Aramark’s Chairman, President & CEO. “We are encouraged by the early progress against our shared goal with the American Heart Association to impact the lives of millions of consumers, as well as thousands of families and Aramark team members.”

The Feed Your Potential 365 Clubs will equip families with the knowledge, skills and confidence to discover, choose and prepare healthy food through food discovery and cooking experiences, combined with interactive education-based curriculum developed, designed and tested with the AHA. Participants in community centers that piloted the program last year significantly increased fruit and vegetable consumption by almost a full cup per day.

“We are inspired by the initial results of our joint effort with Aramark to improve the health of Americans 20 percent by 2020, especially as 72 percent of American adults have a poor diet and nearly 70 percent of American adults are obese or overweight,” said Alvin Royse, J.D., CPA, Chairman of the American Heart Association. “Our collective work, particularly in underserved communities, will be vital to helping us build a culture of health at the individual, community and national levels.”

The inaugural clubs will be hosted by community centers in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Club members, primarily single parent/head of households responsible for the food decisions for their families, will participate in a series of interactive group activities, including healthy food tastings, cooking skills and competitions, and “healthy food field trips” to grocery stores and farmers markets. Aramark chefs and dietitians will be active volunteers and educators, providing practical and proven tips that demonstrate how fun and easy it is to cook healthy at home.

Beyond local communities, Aramark is engaging consumers, clients, customers and employees in the campaign through a variety of digital resources, point-of-purchase educational materials, food discovery experiences and health challenges. All consumers are invited to join the campaign via the FYP365 digital community (aramark.com/FYP365) and Instagram @Aramark, where they can access and receive information and ideas from the company’s chefs and dietitians, as well as experts from the AHA, including: tips and tricks for eating well; healthy ‘hacks’ that offer better-for-you twists on traditional favorites; healthy food prep videos; recipes and more.

An important component of Feed Your Potential 365 is also geared to motivating Aramark’s 270,000 team members through promotion and education of wellbeing, including Employee Health Challenges where incentives such as Flexible Spending Account dollars are provided.

In addition to the new Feed Your Potential 365 public campaign, Aramark’s ongoing Healthy for Life commitment with the AHA includes menu changes, already underway, that will reduce the amount of calories, saturated fat and sodium by 20 percent, while increasing the amount of fruits vegetables and whole grains on the menu by 20 percent by the year 2020. These changes will impact the more than 2 billion meals the company serves annually.

In 2016, Aramark made significant progress against its menu goals by redesigning its menu mix, developing new recipes and sourcing healthier ingredients. Overall, in its first year, the company achieved an 8 percent reduction in calories, sodium and saturated fats, and increased fruits, vegetables and whole grains across the menus it serves in colleges and universities, hospital cafes and workplace locations. Over 30 percent of main dishes served on these menus are now vegetarian or vegan, and more than 10 percent have whole grains as a leading ingredient.

Join the campaign via the FYP 365 digital community (www.aramark.com/FYP365) and Instagram @Aramark.

About Aramark

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) proudly serves Fortune 500 companies, world champion sports teams, state-of-the-art healthcare providers, the world’s leading educational institutions, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and numerous municipalities in 19 countries around the world.  Our 270,000 team members deliver experiences that enrich and nourish millions of lives every day through innovative services in food, facilities management and uniforms. We operate our business with social responsibility, focusing on initiatives that support our diverse workforce, advance consumer health and wellness, protect our environment, and strengthen our communities.  Aramark is recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, as well as an employer of choice by the Human Rights Campaign and DiversityInc. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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